When you were growing up, what kinds of things did you wish for? Did you wish for good grades, did you wish the acne to disappear from your face, or did you wish that you could take back some words you thoughtlessly hurled at someone in your class? What’s that quote, “wishing doesn’t make it so?” No, to get good grades or to have a clear complexion or to resolve the hurt your words caused, you and you alone have to take action. Your wishes, if they can be granted at all, require you to act.
But then of course, even if you study hard, wash your face three times daily or apologize to the person cut down by your words, your wishes still may not come true. It’s a fifty/fifty chance that your wishes will prevail. It all depends on you and even that may not sufficient. Wishes being fulfilled are no sure foundation on which to stake your future.
What about hoping? As an adult what do you hope for? Do you hope that there really is an afterlife, do you hope that all people will be treated with justice and compassion, or do you hope that your employer doesn’t declare bankruptcy, leaving you out of work with no pension to fall back on? These hopes are not affected by your ability to bring them about on your own.
Hoping requires that we consider the three concepts of Expectation, Assurance, and Trust. As an illustration of how to encounter hope, let me use the example of your employer’s ability to stay in business and keep you employed.